First Winter Rain

First Winter Rain - context Summary

Sarumino's Opening Haiku

Basho wrote this haiku in 1689 during winter travels in the Iga region; it was published in 1691 and chosen as the opening poem of the Sarumino anthology. The spare image, rain prompting even a monkey to seek a raincoat, reflects Basho's late-career aesthetic of karumi, or deliberate lightness. The travel occasion and seasonal detail ground the poem in real journeying and observation, making a small, humane scene stand for transitory life.